CALGARY — When a local energy economics expert received a flyer advertising solar panels for his roof in the mail, he did what few other potential customers are willing to do: the math.

Andrew Leach, who recently took sabbatical from his role as an associate professor at the University of Alberta’s school of business, said he’s the target market for an offer that would rent solar panels to homeowners in the province.

The program, recently offered by the city of Calgary-owned utility provider Enmax, provides a lease program, of sorts. Homeowners rent solar panels at one of three rates for 15 years. For no money down, the customer can install the panels at a rate of about $60 per month at an interest rate of 6.11%; if she can afford a $3,500 down-payment, the monthly bill drops to $16.99, with an interest rate of .0029%. At the end of the term, she can pay $350 to keep the panels, or $950 to have the company remove them.

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After crunching the numbers, Mr. Leach realized that the lifetime cost of festooning one’s house with the environmental status symbols would save absolutely no money on electricity bills. In fact, they could cost more than $4,300 — conservatively. He deduced it would be far more efficient to simply purchase greenhouse-gas emissions offsets.

Mr. Leach published the analysis on his blog last week.

“It’s green marketing. You want to be that person on the street with solar panels on the roof,” he said. “It’s the image, it’s the lifestyle that’s wrapped into it.”

‘It’s the image, it’s the lifestyle that’s wrapped into it’

Mr. Leach said he had no problem with the program as long as the actual costs were transparent, he added.

“The people who want to buy them for that reason should not be dissuaded by [me],” he said.

Unlike in Ontario, Enmax is not offering a program that purchases surplus energy from the homeowner.

So, although solar may offset a portion of the cost of one’s electricity bill, it won’t make a significant dent. Nor would it be the most effective way to actually reduce or offset greenhouse gas emissions. The utility provider freely conceded Mr. Leach’s analysis.

The panels are aimed at those who are philosophically inclined toward solar — it’s not intended to save the customer any money.

“It’s for those who are interested in renewable power and the environmental impact, more of those things,” said Helen Bremner, the executive vice-president of brand and residential markets. “There’s still a premium on renewable power at the moment.”

So far, about 250 homes in Alberta have signed up for the program, she said.

Although the fine print of the program are not included on the flyer handed to potential customers, she said early advertising is only the first step. Homeowners who are interested meet with an Enmax representative who goes over the details of the solar panel program and evaluates the house to see if it’s suitable.

At the end of the 15-year lease, if the customer chooses to purchase the panels they can. Ms. Bremner said solar panels have up to a 40-year lifespan. After the initial cost is paid off, homeowners could continue to receive up to a fifth of their power through solar energy.

“We’re trying to help establish this market to make options available,” she said.